Doctor Starts “Ouchless Jab Challenge” to Ease Pain & Needle Fears

There’s nothing quite as difficult as seeing your child in pain, even when you know it’s for their own good. According to recent research, one of the biggest sources of pain for little ones in the healthcare system happens to be shots. Whether it’s a part of their routine immunizations or a seasonal RSV or flu shot, the pain and fear that comes with needles can feel inescapable. But one doctor is on a mission to change that.

Pediatric pain and palliative medicine specialist Dr. Stefan J. Friedrichsdorf is the medical director at the Stad Center for Pediatric Pain, Palliative and Integrative Medicine, where he and every member of his team get up every morning because they “want to eradicate pain and suffering." Friedrichsdorf’s latest campaign in his quest for a pain-free world—the “Ouchless Jab Challenge.”

The “Ouchless Jab Challenge,” which has been gaining popularity on social media, is focused on four simple steps that clinicians and parents can follow to make shots a little more pleasant, if not pain free.

These four approaches include:

1. Apply numbing cream. An over-the-counter lidocaine, 30 minutes before a shot. “You put this on your skin and you feel far less or nothing,” Friedrichsdorf says in a video describing the four techniques.
2. Breastfeed babies or give them a pacifier dipped in sugar water. This provides comfort for them before or while getting a shot. “Babies are swaddled and now, pretty much all of them are sleeping through the intervention,” he adds.
3. Use distractions to divert attention. Teddy bears, pinwheels, bubbles or in Friedrichsdorf’s case, magic provides an alternative to focus on and enjoy
4. No more pinning kids down on an exam table. Parents should hold children in their laps instead.

“Needle pokes are the number one source of distress for children,” Friedrichsdorf noted at a pediatric conference this past winter. Noting that because of such pervasive fears, that “many children and many parents decide not to continue the treatment," whether that be for a serious illness or to prevent a disease.

Check out these 13 other ideas for making shots less stressful for you and baby.

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